Manager, Trade Activation - DC/DE/MD

Position: Manager, Field Trade Activation (Spirits)

Location: Southeast Region

DC/DE/MD

Reports To: Director, Activation – Southeast Region

Function: US Customer Marketing

About the Role

The Manager, Field Trade Activation – Spirits is responsible for bringing Diageo US Spirits' brand and commercial strategies to life across assigned markets. As the primary activation partner to local Sales teams, distributors, and Sales leaders, this role ensures national priorities are translated into locally relevant activation plans that drive distribution, visibility, rate of sale, and consumer conversion.

Working closely with the Director, Trade Activation and Brand, Shopper Marketing, and Commercial Planning teams, the Activation Manager serves as the voice of the market - providing customer insights, identifying commercial opportunities, and ensuring activation plans reflect local market dynamics while remaining aligned to national priorities.

This role is highly collaborative and plays a critical part in connecting strategy with execution across On Premise, Off Premise, and emerging channels.

Key Responsibilities

Market Activation Leadership

• Lead execution of national and regional activation programs across the Diageo Spirits portfolio within assigned markets.
• Partner with local Sales teams, distributors, and Sales leaders to prioritize activation opportunities that drive market share and commercial performance.
• Ensure activation investments are focused on the highest-impact brands, customers, channels, and occasions.
• Support execution of activation programs including POS, sampling, experiential activations, education, local partnerships, and customer-specific initiatives.

Brand & Commercial Partnership

• Serve as the primary field activation partner for Brand, Sales, and distributor teams.
• Communicate brand priorities, program calendars, and activation plans to market stakeholders.
• Build strong relationships with Sales Directors, distributor trade development teams, and key commercial partners.
• Provide ongoing feedback to central teams on market performance, competitive activity, customer needs, and execution opportunities.

Planning & Investment Management

• Support annual operating plans and quarterly activation planning within assigned markets.
• Manage regional activation and A&P investments while ensuring compliance with company policies.
• Monitor activation performance and recommend investment adjustments to maximize commercial impact and ROI.

Market Insights & Communication

• Capture and communicate shopper, customer, and competitive insights that influence future programming.
• Translate national initiatives into clear, actionable priorities for local Sales teams and distributors.
• Ensure consistent communication of activation priorities across assigned markets.

Execution Excellence

• Coordinate agency partners and field resources to deliver best-in-class execution.
• Ensure activation assets and tools are deployed effectively and consistently.
• Identify opportunities to improve execution standards, simplify ways of working, and increase activation effectiveness across the market.

Success Measures

• Excellent execution of national and regional activation priorities.
• Strong partnership with Sales and distributor organizations.
• Effective deployment of activation investments.
• Improved execution quality across activation programs and customer initiatives.
• Meaningful market insights that influence future brand and activation planning.
• Measurable contribution to distribution, visibility, rate of sale, and market share growth.

Qualifications

• 5–7+ years of experience in Trade Marketing, Customer Marketing, Commercial Activation, Sales, Brand Commercialization, or Customer Development within beverage alcohol or CPG.
• Strong understanding of the U.S. three-tier system and distributor operations.
• Experience managing commercial programs, activation, or agency partners.
• Excellent communication, planning, and project management skills.
• Strong influencing skills with the ability to work effectively in a highly matrixed organization.
• Commercially minded with the ability to translate strategy into winning execution.

Salary Range: $105,225.00 - $175,375.00

Flexibility is key to our success. Talk to us about what flexibility means to you, so that you’re supported to manage your wellbeing and balance your priorities from day one.

We recognize and value performance, offering our people a highly competitive Rewards and Benefits package including:

Our purpose is to celebrate life, every day, everywhere. And creating an inclusive culture, where everyone feels valued and that they can belong, is a crucial part of this.

We embrace diversity in the broadest possible sense. This means that you’ll be welcomed and celebrated for who you are just by being you. You’ll be part of and help build and champion an inclusive culture that celebrates people of different gender, ethnicity, ability, age, sexual orientation, social class, educational backgrounds, experiences, mindsets, and more.

Our ambition is to create the best performing, most trusted and respected consumer products companies in the world. Join us and help transform our business as we take our brands to new heights and build new ones as part of shaping the next generation of celebrations for consumers around the world.

Feel inspired? Then this may be the opportunity for you.

If you require a reasonable adjustment, please ensure that you capture this information when you submit your application.